eBay items are costlier than local market

[deepakpat]

People like me come to eBay to buy items at a lower cost than that available in the market. But now days I see many eBay items are actually costlier than the market price.


E.g. Sony Ericsson's W550i mobile is available in the local market for Rs. 14200/- (with bill and warranty), but I did not find a single listing equivalent or less than this price. Most of the listings were in 17,000 - 18,000 price band.


Again, this is not a single case.


I wonder why should I buy items from eBay, which are costlier and that too where certain risk is involved.


Regards,
Deepak

[abhi@ebay.com]

Hi deepakpat,

As you rightly pointed out, MOST of the listings were higher than market price. However most of the successful listings are at rates which are either at or below the price you mentioned.

eBay India is a marketplace and sellers have the freedom to decide their own pricing. In any marketplace one has to look hard to find the best deal.

Some pointers that might help you out:
- Did you know that you could search for listings that have ended? On the right hand navigation pane in the Search Options section you can check the completed listings checkbox to get a fair idea at wht price items are actually selling (and in the case of the W550i it goes even as low as Rs. 12,100).
- You can sort the items by lowest price (the sort by drop down is located at the top right corner of where the actual listings start appearing)
- You can filter your search using the 1 Paisa search (again located in the search option section of the left navigation pane) filter which will give you all items which started on auction at 1 paisa. These items may typically go at lower rates.
- You can search for Used Items (Search Options section in the Left Navigation Pane). In certain cases you could get fantastic deals (30% - 50% off) on items which have barely been used for a few months.
- Finally again using the search options section you can specify the maximum and minimum prices so that you only get to see the listings you are interested in.

Having said this it possible in certain cases where buyers are situated in relatively remote locations, that prices go higher than the MRP that you would see in a metro city, since these items may not be avilable in those cities. Also be sure to check what the sellers are offering as in some cases sellers will bundle additional products together and charge a marginally higher price.

To reiterate, eBay offers you great search tools & facilities that can help you find exactly what you are looking for. Time spent on familiarising yourself with these options would be well spent.


Happy Searching & Shopping!
Regards,
Abhi
Category Management.

[emailswarup]

Hi,

I have found many items on eBay at much cheaper price than in the market. However, I rarely look for electronics goods, hence can't comment on that.

. Best Regards 😄
Swarup Dutta
Kolkata

[snrama]

Hi,

Most products are cheap and affordable rates compared to local market. ---------------
With Regards,
Navaneeth (snrama) 😉